BERLIN (Reuters) - Here are some talking points from the Bundesliga weekend:
MOUTH-WATERING DUEL
Leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach have already shown their surprise rise to the top has been no fluke and their 4-2 win over in-form Freiburg sets the stage for Saturday's crunch clash against champions Bayern Munich.
Gladbach, who have won eight of their last 10 league games, are four points ahead of fourth-placed Bayern and are top of the table for the seventh consecutive week, their best run since their 1977 title-winning season.
BAYERN WORRIES
After four wins and four clean sheets under interim coach Hansi Flick, Bayern were brought back to earth with a 2-1 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.
While Flick will stay on until at least the winter break, a defeat in Gladbach would see the champions drop further behind in the title race and prompt renewed discussions over a possible successor next year.
"We have agreed that we will sit down after the last game (of the year) and discuss everything and possibly continue with him beyond the winter," said club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
KLINSMANN DEBUT
Former Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann returned to the Bundesliga after a decade away but his Hertha Berlin debut was spoiled by a 2-1 home loss to Borussia Dortmund.
"We wanted a bit more. We will now increase the intensity," said Klinsmann, who is also a board member at the club.
With the side occupying the relegation playoff spot, Klinsmann said there was no disguising the problems they face.
"We know where we are and we can see it. We can all read the standings," he said.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Peter Rutherford)